Moo Moo recovering back home after shot

BACK ON THE PROWL: Moo Moo's recovery from a crossbow hit must raise the question as to whether he is the world's toughest cat.

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Moo Moo the Wainuiomata cat is a bit skittish these days but given he just had a crossbow bolt removed from his head, it could have been far worse.

The six-year-old black-and-white feline is now sporting a shaved head and stitches but, after a head injury which made the headlines worldwide, is expected to make a full recovery.

Owner Donna Ferrari came home last Monday to find Moo Moo "just sitting there" by the back door unable to fit through the cat door because of the 30 to 40cm crossbow bolt through his head.

Moo Moo ran away but Ms Ferrari and her daughter Caitlyn, 3, found him the next day in bushes behind her house.

Ms Ferrar rushed him to the local vets in Wainuiomata, which transferred him to Massey Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Palmerston North.

On Tuesday last week the bolt was removed and, incredibly, had not even touched the lucky cat's brain. On Saturday Ms Ferrari picked the cat up and took him home.

"Caitlyn said "Moo Moo has a stick in his head'. She kept asking when he was coming home."

Now back home in Wainuiomata, Moo Moo is a noticeably different cat to the confident feline who once lay on the hallway floor and expected people to walk around him.

Now, he runs away when people come into a room. "He is doing well, he is just a bit skittery."

Ms Ferrari expected a full recovery and said a flood of donations would mostly cover the $1697 veterinary bill.

On Thursday last week, an 18-year-old Wainuiomata man handed himself into police and admitted shooting Moo Moo but said the cat darted into the path of the arrow when he was shooting at another target.

Police spokesman Nick Bohm last week said officers were investigating the incident and considering whether charges were appropriate. The crossbow was seized.